Well, at least the money wasn't wasted

This is how your government spends money when we are teetering on the brink of disaster.

If most of the men in the study wash their genitals after sex, are willing to do so after the study ends, and report that their partners accept the regimen, the researchers will develop another study to see if the “penile cleansing procedure” actually works to prevent HIV infections.

Just from a female perspective; how about having them wash before sex, too? What could it hurt, right?

And it's not clear what 'their partners' acceptance' refers to. It could mean that these sexual partners are going to learn to follow the same cleansing procedure, in which case we can safely assume these are gay couplings.

Or is it presumed that these are women, who for some reason might not approve of their partner's hygiene regimen?

Either way, and, most importantly, why should the US taxpayer give a rat's ass?
It's not like we aren't already sending an ass-ton of aid to African nations. We are.

My God, people, let's get serious here. People are out of work, and businesses are dying all around us; just ship them some instructional diagrams and a couple cases of Zest and let's be done!

If you go to the article, don't miss out on how the researchers explained why they were justified to receive tax money for this unproductive busy-work. Right at the end, there.
You'll like it. It's good.

Thanks to Krukke1.

Posted by: LauraW at 07:41 AM | Comments (159)
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I'm going to start with my open question for President Obama. I wanted to ask this over the weekend but it seemed an inappropriate political moment. I do think it's an important question in evaluating Obama's actions as President.

On September 19th, 2001 then state Senator Barack Obama addressed a rally in Chicago. Here's what he had to say about the attacks just 8 days earlier.

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity.

My question for the President is, after nearly 20 months in office and having access to whatever information he needs to exercise his responsibilities as Commander in Chief of the United States armed forces, does he still think "a fundamental absence of empathy" is the "essence" of what motivates the people we are fighting and who have tried to attack on US soils several times during his presidency?

Now, compare Obama's post attack rhetoric with then President George W. Bush's on 9/14/01 at the World Trade Center site.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:35 AM | Comments (230)
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Brand Democrat™ from Slublog.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:27 AM | Comments (203)
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Got the results early today from our co-commissioners, Ben and CDR M. Here's how bad you people suck:

10 jed
10 mr.wizard
9 trailertrash
9 O-bam FAIL Smart Set
9 conservative in the city
9 Reggie Bush's Birth Cert
9 Iowa Amy
9 MP40
9 sTevo
9 BigBensRapeKit
9 Dr Spank
9 Diego's Dogs
9 Lok'tar Ogar
9 alrightthen

Everybody else, 8 or fewer.

The only thing I have to add is Wade Phillips' opening game team preparation skills are a lot like Meghan McCainÂ’s prose. Confusing, incoherent, and mind-numbingly stupid. Also he has bigger tits.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 04:46 AM | Comments (73)
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Frank J Fleming On How Not To Be An Extremist

Well the first step is realizing that you in fact have extreme views. And it's very easy to delude yourself that your views are entirely mainstream - especially when you seldom leave the cocoon. But if you were to explain your views to say 20 people at the mall and 85%+ of them think they're crazy, well you're probably an extremist. So take Frank's test and see if maybe the E-word applies to you.

If more than two professors ever agreed with your ideas and you didn't get a BS or MS degree, you're probably an extremist. If you ever shouted 'RONPAUL!' in a non-ironic way, you are an extremist. If Step 2 of your 10 point political plan involves an armed insurrection, you're probably an extremist. If the gold standard or the Queen of England figure prominently in your political views, you might be an extremist. If your political goals assume the non-existence of say 1 to 99% of the human population, you are an extremist.

Now there's nothing necessarily wrong with being an extremist but you have to be honest with yourself and others that your views are indeed out of the mainstream. And you're way better off finding better arguments that will resonate with people rather than just ranting about the sheeple or shooting up the Discovery Channel office. If you do go the tin foil route, just remember that it's always shiny-side out! more...

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:43 PM | Comments (857)
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An American hero gives his first TV interview.

This was a tease for the interview that aired this evening, I'll keep an eye for the full story.

It's about time the military did this. I refuse to believe that after 9 years of war in Afghanistan and 7+ in Iraq, only 7 men (including Giunta) have done something to merit the Medal of Honor. I have no idea why the military has taken this approach to the Medal of Honor but it does the whole nation a disservice. It's about more than the men and women who might be considered for the Medal, they do not act out of a desire for medals or recognition but those that will come after them need inspirational figures. Our country needs these heroes, especially those that survive.

Thank God for men like SSG Salvatore Giunta.

(I corrected the abbreviation for Staff Sergeant. Thanks to Ed for the heads up)

Posted by: DrewM at 03:31 PM | Comments (93)
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Finally, something he and Obama can disagree on.

He says it's not "hallowed ground" because there's a strip club nearby. And yet, he is determined to build here because it is Ground Zero.

Posted by: Ace at 01:48 PM | Comments (153)
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I find this so odd. If they cared about public opinion -- what the hell was going on a year ago?

Red-district Democrats are pressuring Speaker Nancy Pelosi to extend Bush-era income tax rates for all brackets, revealing a high-stakes rift between the party's vulnerable moderates and its safe liberals as the issue increasingly dominates the national debate.

POLITICO has obtained a draft of a letter from rank-and-file lawmakers to Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urging them not to let tax rates rise for Americans at the highest income levels.

"We believe in times of economic recovery it makes good sense to maintain things as they are in the short term, to provide families and businesses the certainty required to plan and make sound budget decisions," the House members wrote in a letter...

Republicans, meanwhile, aren't in any mood to compromise and just pass an extension for the middle-class cut of the Bush tax cuts-- they think an argument on tax policy, even about tax-cuts for those despised rich people, feeds the larger narrative of Obama's failed policies and supersized state.

Posted by: Ace at 01:45 PM | Comments (184)
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Hmmm...

I would guess "whitewash" but Michelle Malkin says not necessarily:

Big news. Good news. [Glenn] Fine is a veteran IG whose meticulous work I cited in-depth in Invasion

Posted by: Ace at 12:37 PM | Comments (151)
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Roubini -- "Doctor Doom," because of his frequent (but frequently accurate) predictions of economic disaster -- thinks we're in trouble.

Economists peddling dire warnings that the world's number one economy is on the brink of collapse, amid high rates of unemployment and a spiraling public deficit, are flourishing here.

The guru of this doomsday line of thinking may be economist Nouriel Roubini, thrust into the forefront after predicting the chaos wrought by the subprime mortgage crisis and the collapse of the housing bubble.

"The US has run out of bullets," Roubini told an economic forum in Italy earlier this month. "Any shock at this point can tip you back into recession."

But other economists, who have so far stayed out of the media limelight, are also proselytizing nightmarish visions of the future.

One scenario is simply the US and China getting into a beef, and China calling in debt, and the US printing money (the only way to satisfy that debt), and then high inflation or even hyperinflation.

Not mentioned: What happens if/when oil spikes again?

Leading Economic Indicator? Obama merchandise sales are now in the crapper.

Goolsbee: High Unemployment Is The New Normal. At Hot Air, no light at the end of the Obama tunnel.

GOOLSBEE: But I donÂ’t think the unemployment rate will be coming down significantly anytime in the near future.

WALLACE: Do you think it will — you’ll be — it’s now 9.6 percent. End of this year?

GOOLSBEE: I don’t — look, I try to stay out of the specific forecasting games other than our official forecast. I think it’s clear that the labor market is significantly weakened, has been for some time. We have to do everything we can to try to create jobs and get people back to work.

WALLACE: Could it be 10 percent by the end of the year?

GOOLSBEE: Look, as I say, IÂ’m not going to speculate. We have official forecasts and weÂ’ll release them when they come out.

WALLACE: But you donÂ’t expectÂ…

GOOLSBEE: We need to do everythingÂ…

WALLACE: Â… it to go down appreciably fromÂ…

GOOLSBEE: I don’t expect it to go down appreciably. That’s what — our forecast, and most of the private forecasts say the same thing.

This is crass, but if there isn't a strong recovery already blooming by May 2012, he can't win. Even if it comes after that, he can't win, in all likelihood.

And it's going to be close, isn't it? 2011 is now all but written off. Only -- this is weird -- the Republican Congress can now save Obama, by letting business know that Hope and Change is dead and it's safe to begin hiring and investing again.

Posted by: Ace at 11:37 AM | Comments (331)
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